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More poems by John BerrymanJohn Berryman | Print this page.Print | Order a PoetryNotes Analysis of this poem.Analysis | View and Write CommentsComments

Dream Song 129: Thin as a sheet his mother came to him

John Berryman

Thin as a sheet his mother came to him
during the screaming evenings after he did it,
touched F.J.'s dead hand.
The parlour was dark, he was the first pall-bearer in,
he gave himself a dare & then did it,
the thing was quite unplanned,

riots for Henry the unstructured dead,
his older playmate fouled, reaching for him
and never will he be free
from the older boy who died by the cottonwood
& now is to be planted, wise & slim,
as part of Henry's history.

Christ waits. That boy was good beyond his years,
he served at Mass like Henry, he never did 
one extreme thing wrong
but tender his cold hand, latent with Henry's fears
to Henry's shocking touch, whereat he fled
and woke screaming, young & strong.

Added: 5 Aug 2002 | Last Read: 5 Sep 2008 5:23 AM | Viewed: 1928 times

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URL: http://plagiarist.com/poetry/5709/ | Viewed on 5 September 2008.
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